


Home is when your heart stops screaming

by Gilrael



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Angst and Fluff and Smut, Blow Jobs, Eventual Smut, Getting Together, Haikyuu!! Manga Spoilers, M/M, Post-Time Skip, Roommates, idiots to lovers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-08
Updated: 2020-04-09
Packaged: 2021-03-01 23:27:17
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 9,804
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23545366
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Gilrael/pseuds/Gilrael
Summary: Yuuji stood outside of his flat in nothing but a t-shirt and rather skimpy underwear that he'd only put on because he'd been too lazy to do a load of laundry after work. There was no better time than this to watch a group of firefighters try to save all of your belongings from burning to a crisp.“Are you alright?”Yuuji huffed and was about to tell this guy to open his eyes, but then he turned his head to see what was probably the most handsome officer the local police force had in their ranks. Today of all days, Yuuji had had to put on the most embarrassing pair of underpants that he owned, hadn't he?~~~Daichi and Terushima haven't seen each other since high school, but when Terushima ends up becoming temporarily homeless, Daichi is immediately willing to let him stay over at his flat.
Relationships: Sawamura Daichi/Terushima Yuuji
Comments: 53
Kudos: 188





	1. That's the way we get by

**Author's Note:**

> _Zuhause heißt, wenn dein Herz nicht mehr so schreit  
>  Zuhause heißt, wenn die Angst der Freundschaft weicht  
> Zuhause heißt, wir schützen uns, alle sind gleich  
> Zuhause heißt, wenn dein Herz nicht mehr so schreit_
> 
> _Feine Sahne Fischfilet – Zuhause_
> 
> ~~~
> 
> I don't even remember what sparked the idea to this fic, but it just ran away with me until I had no control over any of the characters anymore (I'm looking at you, Yuuji). I had a blast writing this ridiculous fic, and I hope you'll enjoy reading just as much! As almost always, the title of the fic and the chapters were inspired by various songs. I'll be updating this rather quickly since it's basically done and just in need of a handful of edits.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> _We go out in stormy weather  
>  We rarely practice discern  
> We make love to some weird sin  
> We seek out the taciturn  
> And that's the way we get by_
> 
> _Spoon – The Way We Get By_

“ _Wear a pyjama or you'll catch a cold!”_

The voice of his mother echoed in Yuuji's mind as he stood outside of his flat in nothing but a t-shirt and rather skimpy underwear that he'd only put on because he'd been too lazy to do a load of laundry after work. Of course, his neighbours had to set their kitchen on fire in the middle of the night in spring. There was no better time than this to watch a group of firefighters try to save all of your belongings from burning to a crisp.

“Are you alright?”

Yuuji huffed and was about to tell this guy to open his eyes, but then he turned his head to see what was probably the most handsome officer the local police force had in their ranks. Today of all days, Yuuji had had to put on the most embarrassing pair of underpants that he owned, hadn't he?

“Er, I'm kinda freezing and hoping that my flat won't catch fire, so... not alright?” he said, trying very hard not to draw attention to his barely covered junk. Luckily, the officer's eyes appeared to be stuck on Yuuji's face. They were really pretty eyes, too, and something about them seemed familiar.

“Te... Terushima-kun?”

Yuuji was fairly certain that he'd never had a run-in with law enforcement. His friends would've told him if that had been the case the few times he'd been blackout drunk.

“Do I know you?” Yuuji asked carefully.

The cop's facial expression went from pleasantly surprised to embarrassed in an instant.

“Oh, er, I'm Sawamura. Sawamura Daichi. Our volleyball teams played against each other one time...”

“Oh!”

The years had been incredibly kind to Daichi-kun. His jawline was more defined now, his shoulders broader – or maybe that was just a side-effect of wearing a uniform.

“I didn't recognise you, Daichi-kun!” Yuuji exclaimed, immediately regretting the familiar way in which he was addressing someone who was both older and a police officer. “Or, I mean, Sawamura-san?”

“Daichi-kun is fine,” Daichi-kun said, sheepishly scratching the back of his neck and averting his gaze towards the ground. Or well, as close to the ground as he could get before catching a glimpse of Yuuji's unusual choice of sleepwear. His eyes snapped back up immediately. “You said you were cold. I'll get you a blanket.”

“Yeah, thanks,” Yuuji muttered, wishing that a hole in the ground would open up and swallow him whole.

Daichi-kun returned quickly with a blanket and a thermos.

“I brought this in anticipation of a long night of patrolling, but I think you might need it more than I do,” he said, pouring steaming coffee into the lid of the thermos while Yuuji covered himself up with the scratchy blanket.

“Thanks.”

“I just talked to the firefighters, and they think they'll have things under control soon. Unless something unexpected happens, the fire probably won't spread to the other buildings,” Daichi-kun explained while Yuuji sipped at the unsweetened coffee. “You probably won't be allowed back into your flat until tomorrow, though. Is there any place where you could stay the night?”

Yuuji had a lot of friends. They'd go out drinking or clubbing regularly, and they were a lot of fun to be around, but none of them was the kind of person he could ask for a place to stay. His family wasn't an option either since his father got transferred to the Osaka branch of his company. The only other person he could think of was his boss at the hair salon, Miwa-san.

“I... I could call someone...” Yuuji instinctively reached below the blanket to grab his phone from his pockets, only to realise that his legs were completely bare and that his phone was probably still somewhere inside of his flat.

“Oh fuck.”

“You can use my phone,” Daichi-kun offered.

“I don't know her number by heart,” Yuuji sighed.

“E-mail?”

It was worth a shot. Yuuji took the phone and prayed to the gods that Miwa-san was still awake at this time of night as he typed out his message to her.

From: Sawamura Daichi <sawadai@jmail.jp>

To: kageyama.miwa@khairsalon.jp

Subject: My house is literally on fire and I need a place to crash

> Hey Miwa-san,

> there's a fire next to my building and I won't be able to return to my flat until tomorrow. Can I sleep over at your place? I don't have my phone, so I am writing this from the phone of one of the cops that were sent to help out the firefighters. Please respond ASAP. I've already embarrassed myself enough tonight.

> ~Yuuji

***

Yuuji never received an answer from Miwa-san. He couldn't really blame her. It was the middle of the night after all. Taking a look around, Yuuji realised that most of his neighbours had already been relocated. Unlike him, they'd probably thought to take their phones and wallets with them as they evacuated their flats.

“Just my luck,” he muttered, staring down at the screen of Daichi-kun's phone because it was less anxiety-inducing than watching the firefighters do their job. Yuuji had run out of coffee a while ago, and Daichi-kun had gone to help out his colleagues who were fielding questions from concerned passers-by and people who lived in neighbouring houses.

The first rays of sunshine were starting to peek out behind the mountains by the time Daichi-kun returned to Yuuji, who had since sat down on the low wall that surrounded the parking lot in front of the building. Naturally, Yuuji hadn't managed to catch a single second of sleep.

“Any word from your boss?”

“Nope. She's still asleep, I guess.”

“Damn. The firefighters say that they're not sure if the building is still structurally sound, so you probably won't be able to return to your flat until tonight, if at all.” Daichi-kun offered a sympathetic smile, and what a smile it was. Under normal circumstances, Yuuji would've probably used this situation to test the waters, flirt a little and see where this could go, but he was severely sleep-deprived and unsure whether or not he would become homeless overnight. He couldn't muster anything more than a tired sigh.

“Thanks for the info.”

“Should I go and ask around the neighbourhood if anyone would be willing to have you stay for the rest of the day?”

It was a sweet offer but... “I don't think anyone would let me inside of their house in this getup,” Yuuji mumbled.

“Er, right.” A noticeable blush settled upon Daichi-kun's cheeks, although Yuuji should've been the one to be embarrassed by his state of undress. “My shift will be over in about half an hour, and it doesn't look like I'll be needed around here anymore, so you could stay over at my place for a bit. I'll tell my colleagues to contact me once it's safe to go back inside the building.”

As the skies finally got brighter, so did Yuuji's abysmal situation. He was tempted to throw his arms around Daichi-kun's shoulders, but he needed at least one hand to keep the blanket in place, so he opted to grin widely instead.

“Thank you so much,” he said. “Could we make a stop at a corner store to buy a pair of proper underwear? I'll pay you back once I have access to my wallet again...”

***

Wearing a newly acquired pair of boxer shorts and sitting atop a comfortable guest futon in Daichi-kun's flat, Yuuji's mood had improved drastically. Seeing Daichi-kun leave his bathroom with wet hair and wearing nothing but loose-fitting sweatpants and a towel around his neck certainly helped as well. Yuuji couldn't resist whistling through his teeth.

“Nice abs you got there, Mr Police Officer,” he said, grinning.

Daichi-kun cleared his throat and immediately went to grab a t-shirt from his closet.

“Spoilsport,” Yuuji complained, but Daichi-kun didn't further acknowledge Yuuji's flirtatious comments. It was a shame, really. Yuuji wouldn't have minded having some fun with a sexy cop to take his mind off of things.

“We should probably try to catch some sleep soon,” Daichi-kun said as he sat down on the couch and started towelling his hair dry. “It's been a stressful night.”

“That's the understatement of the century.” Yuuji laughed. “Oh well, at least the fire didn't spread to the other flats, so my stuff is probably fine.”

“There might still be water damage,” Daichi-kun said cautiously, “though I'm sure most of your belongings will be salvageable.”

Yuuji didn't want to think about things like water damage. Water damage would mean that he wouldn't be able to stay in his flat, and he really didn't have the resources to move right now. It hadn't been that long since he started his apprenticeship at Miwa-san's salon, so he hadn't even had time to accumulate savings or anything. Instead, he tried to focus on other, more pleasant things. For example, Daichi-kun had really nice arms – perfect for pinning down criminals or, more importantly, Yuuji. And so Yuuji sat and watched as Daichi-kun closed the curtains in the living room in an effort to keep most of the sunlight out, taking particular note of the way Daichi-kun's muscles flexed with the movements.

“I hope you can get some rest,” Daichi-kun said from the doorway of his bedroom. “Sleep well.”

“Yeah. Good night. Or morning, rather.”

Daichi-kun smiled and closed the door. Yuuji flopped down onto the futon and sighed. He really was exhausted. Who wouldn't be after basically getting thrown out of bed at four in the morning by the sound of panicked screaming?

***

Even with how soft and comfortable Daichi-kun's guest futon was, Yuuji still didn't feel particularly rested when a stray beam of sunlight somehow sneaked its way through a gap in the curtains and shone directly onto his closed eyelids sometime around noon. Rubbing his eyes Yuuji sat up and looked around. Daichi-kun was probably still asleep in his room. At least the door was still closed, and Yuuji couldn't hear a sound from behind it.

Yuuji's rumbling stomach reminded him that he hadn't eaten since last night, so he decided to have a look inside Daichi-kun's fridge. Maybe he could make up for this by making breakfast – or lunch? The fridge wasn't necessarily empty, but it seemed like Daichi-kun would have to go grocery shopping sooner rather than later. Well, Yuuji could still work with this. He'd been cooking with less for years while he was still jumping from one part-time position to the next.

He was halfway into making fried rice with bell peppers and canned beans when Daichi-kun emerged from his bedroom, immediately stopping short at the sight of Yuuji making lunch in his boxer shorts.

“Sorry for borrowing your kitchen,” Yuuji said, not feeling apologetic at all, “but I thought we could both use some food after last night.”

“Th-thank you,” Daichi-kun mumbled. “I... I have to use the bathroom real quick.”

“Sure! Go and wash up,” Yuuji said cheerily. “This will take a couple more minutes...”

By the time they sat down at Daichi-kun's small table, Yuuji was ready to shovel food into his mouth.

“Oh, I think your boss replied to your e-mail,” Daichi-kun said, holding out his phone.

Yuuji read and replied to Miwa-san's message as he ate.

From: kageyama.miwa@khairsalon.jp

To: Sawamura Daichi <sawadai@jmail.jp>

Subject: Re: My house is literally on fire and I need a place to crash

> I'm so sorry, Yuuji-kun, I didn't see your mail until now. I hope you're doing alright and that you found somewhere else to stay? Don't hesitate to tell me if you need any help.

From: Sawamura Daichi <sawadai@jmail.jp>

To: kageyama.miwa@khairsalon.jp

Subject: Re: Re: My house is literally on fire and I need a place to crash

> I'm fine! The cop whose phone I'm using used to be on the same team as your little brother, so we kinda know each other. He let me stay over. I'll contact you once I know more about what state my flat is in after this ordeal @_@

“Thanks for letting me use your phone,” Yuuji said, as he pushed it back towards Daichi-kun. “Also for letting me stay over for a bit. Have you heard anything about when I can go and check on my flat?”

Daichi-kun shook his head.

“Nothing so far, but it's my day off anyway, so I can drive you back home whenever.”

Yuuji sighed and turned towards his bowl of fried rice again. Daichi-kun was too nice and too handsome for this world. This almost felt like he was taking advantage of him. Making lunch was nowhere near enough to pay him back for his kindness, and Yuuji would have to figure out a way to make up for imposing on him eventually.

***

“Oh fuck.” Yuuji didn't even bother censoring himself as he entered his flat together with his landlady and Daichi-kun. At a glance, two things were obvious – Yuuji's belongings were probably all fine, but the same thing couldn't be said of the ceiling and parts of the wall. Apparently, living on the top floor didn't only mean that it got unbearably hot in summer without air conditioning; it also meant that water would seep through the shingles when firefighters were trying to keep your building from catching fire.

Suzuki-san rubbed her temples and sighed.

“I already talked to my insurance, and they said that they would cover the repairs, but I don't think you can stay here until everything is fixed,” she said, her tone apologetic. “I'm sorry, Terushima-kun.”

If there was one thing Yuuji had learnt since he'd moved out of his parents' house, it would be to just take life head-on and roll with the punches. Miwa-san had already offered her help, and in the worst-case scenario, he would just be couch surfing. Hell, he could probably find a corner in the hair salon where he could set up camp if he ran out of options.

“Is there anywhere I can store my furniture for the time being?” Yuuji asked.

“Hm.” Suzuki-san wrinkled her brow as she thought about Yuuji's question. “We could put them in my garage. I don't use it anyway. But I don't know how we would transport things over there...”

“I have a car,” Daichi-kun spoke up. “We might have to take multiple trips, but I think we'll manage.”

How could one person manage to be so consistently helpful? Yuuji had no idea, but damn, he was grateful.

“You are honestly the best,” Yuuji said, walking over to his bedside table to pick up his phone and wallet. “How much do I owe you for the underwear again?”

“Er, let's talk about that later.” Daichi-kun's cheeks were flushed pink. “We should probably try and pack up your stuff first.”

“I'll go and find you some boxes. It might be a while because I still need to check on two more flats as well, but maybe you boys can get started already anyway,” Suzuki-san said, putting her shoes back on before leaving.

While Yuuji was still overwhelmed and barely knew where to even start, Daichi-kun was already surveying the room.

“If we disassemble your bookshelf, it'll be easier to transport. Your chest of drawers should fit as long as I fold over the back seat...”

“You really like to take charge, don't you?” Yuuji said teasingly.

“Oh, I'm sorry!” Daichi-kun was blushing again. “I didn't mean to be overbearing...”

Yuuji actually appreciated people with this kind of attitude. Even back in high school, Yuuji had admired Daichi-kun for his leadership qualities. But admitting as much was probably a little too much too soon.

“You're not. Don't worry. I'm happy you're helping,” Yuuji said instead. He'd figure out a way to flirt with Daichi-kun later after he wasn't so reliant on his help.

***

Maybe it was good that this disaster happened before Yuuji had had time to accumulate too much useless stuff. They managed to transport everything in two trips, leaving Yuuji only with necessities like clothes (most of which he still needed to put through the wash) and his small electronics (he still needed to call Miwa-san and ask her if he could stay over for a while). Suzuki-san assured Yuuji that she would tell him how long the repairs would take as soon as she had a specialist look at the damage. It could only be a matter of weeks. Nothing Yuuji couldn't handle.

“Sooo...” Daichi-kun drew out the syllable as they walked back to his car after refusing Suzuki-san's offer of having dinner with her. “Any idea where you are going to stay for the time being?”

Yuuji folded his hands behind his back and stretched out his muscles, thinking.

“I'll probably call my boss. She kinda has that older sister vibe going on, you know? So I think she might just let me stay over,” he said, pulling his phone out of the sweatpants he'd borrowed from Daichi-kun. “Though I'm not sure how good of an idea it is to stay with my boss. I might end up getting on her nerves, and then that'll be it – bye-bye, apprenticeship!”

“You know–” Daichi-kun unlocked the car and opened the door– “you could just stay with me. My flat isn't huge or anything, but there's enough space for the two of us. A-and it's not like it'll be permanent either!” His hands seemed to grip onto the wheel rather tightly as he got in the driver's seat. “Also we already have your stuff loaded up in here anyway. What... what I am saying is that I wouldn't mind helping you out a bit...”

Yuuji hopped onto the passenger's seat next to Daichi-kun with a grin. He had no idea what in the world Daichi-kun was thinking, being so nice to a guy he hadn't seen since high school, but Yuuji was not going to look a gift horse in the mouth.

“You are a saint, honestly,” he said, chuckling. “Sure. I'll gladly stay over.”

***

Two hours later, having eaten a delicious meal cooked by Terushima Yuuji, Sawamura Daichi filled a bathtub with warm water. As he watched the water level rise, he wasn't sure whether he wanted to laugh or cry.

“Why am I doing this?” he whispered to himself. “Why am I letting _him_ stay over?”


	2. But I got you

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> _'Til I hit the dance floor  
>  Hit the dance floor  
> I got all I need  
> No I ain't got cash  
> I ain't got cash  
> But I got you baby_
> 
> _Sia – Cheap thrills_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> When I said I was going to update this fairly quickly, I meant it. Here's chapter 2 of TeruDai being idiots!

“Let me get this straight.” Miwa-san looked up from the appointment calendar, her stern eyes burning a hole into Yuuji's forehead. “You can't go back to your flat for at least three weeks, if not more, so now you are staying with a cop whom you barely even know from high school.”

“A _hot_ cop whom I _kinda_ know from high school,” Yuuji corrected her, leaning his weight onto the mop he'd been using to clean up the floor of the salon before customers arrived. “We played against each other in my second year, and in my third year I ran into him while we were both watching a Karasuno match.”

“So you _barely_ know him,” Miwa-san repeated. “Yuuji-kun, I hate to break this to you, but the guy _must_ have some kind of ulterior motive.”

Yuuji snorted with laughter. Daichi-kun and ulterior motives? No way in hell. He wasn't the type.

“Daichi-kun is way too modest for that kinda stuff,” Yuuji said confidently. “Hell, I actually think he might be straight. I was wearing the most revealing pair of underpants I own when I had to flee my flat, and he didn't even look _once_.”

The look on Miwa-san's face said more than a thousand words. She was done with this conversation.

“Go and make sure your station is all set up for the day,” she said, getting up from her chair and going to unlock the front door of the salon.

_Miwa-san is blowing this way out of proportion_ , Yuuji thought as he looked over his utensils to make sure none were missing when his customers came in. Yesterday after lugging around all of his stuff, he'd made dinner for Daichi-kun, and the guy had looked absolutely ecstatic at the idea of Yuuji being in charge of the cooking while he stayed to make up for the inconvenience. He just didn't seem like a person who would take advantage of someone else. Yuuji wouldn't even particularly mind if Daichi-kun wanted something more out of this situation. As he'd told Miwa-san before, Daichi-kun was _hot_. Yuuji would happily fall into bed with someone like him.

But thinking about Daichi-kun's amazing body was not conducive to productivity, so Yuuji shoved the memories of Daichi-kun's abs to the side. It wasn't like he was actually cutting people's hair yet. Unless a person volunteered themselves to be his guinea pig, he only ever got to wash, dry and style a customer's hair – things that didn't necessarily need a lot of concentration, but he also had to keep up small talk.

“That was my last appointment for today!” Yuuji announced after saying goodbye to a particularly giggly high school girl. “Is there anything left for me to do?”

“We're running low on heat protection spray,” Miwa-san said, rubbing wax onto her fingertips before running them through her clients freshly cut short hair. “You can place an order for that, and then you're free to go.”

“I'm on it!”

***

Unlocking the door to Daichi-kun's flat after coming home from work felt surreal. Yuuji felt like he was an intruder, and he kinda was, wasn't he? Daichi-kun got nothing out of this except for Yuuji's cooking services and maybe a little help cleaning up, but that was it. Yuuji didn't want to think about it too much, but as he went through the motions of chopping up vegetables and chicken for dinner, his mind kept going in circles.

Yesterday had been one hell of a disaster – that was just a fact. The house next to Yuuji's had gone up in flames. His flat got damaged in the process of extinguishing the fire. He'd basically been saved from becoming homeless overnight because he just happened to run into a saint of a cop. Maybe Miwa-san was right. Maybe Daichi-kun did have ulterior motives, and Yuuji was just being too naïve. But what else was he supposed to do? He would rather think too highly of someone than falsely suspect them of having some kind of sinister plan.

Once Yuuji's curry was basically done (all he had to do was reheat it once Daichi-kun came back home), he decided that he might as well take a quick shower. Maybe some hot water would clear away the depressing fog in his brain. But as he stripped his clothes, he was immediately reminded of how embarrassing it had been to be caught outside in his underwear. Nothing, absolutely nothing, could've been more humiliating than that.

Stepping under the warm spray of water, Yuuji realised that he forgot to unpack his shampoo and conditioner from his bags. For a second, he thought about drying off and going to fetch them, but...

“Fuck it,” he muttered under his breath and grabbed Daichi-kun's instead. Using the cheap drugstore stuff once wouldn't kill his hair, and Yuuji could get Daichi-kun some nicer products to use the next time he went to work anyway. At least Daichi-kun's shampoo wasn't overly perfumed, unlike the stuff one of Yuuji's ex-girlfriends had loved to use.

_I need to stop thinking about my ex_ , Yuuji scolded himself. Dwelling on that miserable memory was just as bad, if not worse than thinking about his current situation.

Having washed the shampoo down the drain, Yuuji looked around the shower in the hopes of finding conditioner but the only other thing Daichi-kun kept around his shower was shower gel.

_Daichi-kun needs to take better care of his hair_ , Yuuji thought as he resigned himself to just finish washing his body.

Ten minutes later, as he left the bathroom to go and look through his bags for some clean clothes, the brain fog still hadn't lifted. He grabbed the last clean t-shirt he could find and a pair of boxer shorts from the three-pack Daichi-kun had grabbed at the corner shop for him. He still had to do a load of laundry tonight, but Yuuji didn't really feel like it at the moment. Instead, he sat down on the couch to scroll through Instagram. Looking at other people's cute pets usually cheered him up.

Just as he pulled up the app, Yuuji heard the sound of the front door being opened.

“Welcome back,” he said, trying to put some cheer in his voice but failing miserably.

“Oh, er... hi,” Daichi-kun said, taking off his shoes and hanging up his jacket, “I'm back.”

For a moment, he just stood there, practically staring at Yuuji's... neck area? Weird, but whatever.

“Dinner is basically ready, I just have to heat it up.” Yuuji got up from the couch and walked over to the little kitchen area. “You can go and take a shower first if you want, or you can just... do whatever.”

“I'll help set the table,” Daichi-kun said, hurrying over to help. “How was your commute?”

“Shorter than usual, but I almost missed the stop on my way back,” Yuuji explained, turning on the hob to reheat the curry while Daichi-kun grabbed bowls and spoons.

“Right, your flat was– I mean, _is_ further from the town centre,” Daichi-kun said, stumbling over his words.

“What about you? Any interesting incidents at work?” Yuuji asked, happy to direct the attention away from himself.

“Er, nothing too exciting, I guess?”

They continued to talk as they ate. Or rather, Yuuji kept asking Daichi-kun about his police work so he wouldn't have to talk as much. Listening to Daichi-kun's stories was way better than talking about himself – especially since Daichi-kun had a deep, soothing voice that gave Yuuji goosebumps.

“You've been awfully quiet today,” Daichi-kun said as they started clearing the table.

Yuuji sighed. He really didn't want to talk about this, but maybe getting it off his chest would help.

“It has finally started to sink in that I narrowly avoided homelessness,” Yuuji said, filling the sink up with warm water so he could clean the dishes. “I was lucky that the water damage wasn't worse. Hell, if the firefighters hadn't arrived on time, my flat could've gone up in flames as well!”

“And if it had, I would've been there to help you out,” Daichi-kun said nonchalantly as he watched Yuuji rinse out their bowls.

“Meh. I'm a burden either way,” Yuuji mumbled and put the first bowl on the drying rack. Daichi-kun laughed.

“You didn't seem to mind yesterday,” he said, picking up the bowl and drying it before putting it away.

“Yesterday, I was still running on adrenaline.”

Daichi-kun hummed in understanding.

“And like... I'm glad that you are so nice? Because honestly, you have been the nicest person on the planet,” Yuuji went on, furiously scrubbing tiny bits of curry and rice off of porcelain with a sponge. “You're letting me stay over, and you helped me with moving stuff yesterday, and you wouldn't even accept the money for those boxer shorts you bought for me.”

“I... I mean, I couldn't not help you?” Daichi-kun said, sheepishly scratching the back of his neck. “Don't worry about it too much.”

Yuuji couldn't help the high-pitched whine that escaped his throat. He put down the last of the spoons and let the water drain from the sink.

“Do you... maybe... I mean... would you like a hug?” Daichi-kun asked once he put the spoons away in the drawer.

“Yes, please.” As if Yuuji could've said no. He practically fell into Daichi-kun's strong arms, smooshing his face into his shoulder. Although Daichi-kun hadn't taken a shower yet, he smelled nice. And he was warm and firm, and the way he gently patted Yuuji's back almost made Yuuji tear up. But crying in Daichi-kun's arms would've been a little bit much, so Yuuji took a shaky breath and removed himself from the comforting embrace.

“Feel better?”

The look of genuine concern on Daichi-kun's face made Yuuji's heart flutter. After all, Yuuji was just a weak, _weak_ man.

“Kinda. Thanks.” He sighed. “I still need to do a load of laundry. Would you show me how to use your washing machine?”

“Sure!”

***

It didn't take long for Yuuji to get used to living with Daichi-kun. Daichi-kun's shifts at work weren't always regular, but he stuck a copy of his schedule on the fridge, so Yuuji had at least a rough idea whether he should wait for him for dinner or not. Yuuji had also started preparing lunch for them both, and while the bentos weren't necessarily the prettiest thing in the world, Daichi-kun always seemed to glow with happiness whenever he took his out of the fridge before he left for work.

Honestly, Daichi-kun was A+ flatmate material, and Yuuji was one-hundred per cent ready to defend him from his boss's accusations of impure motives.

“He's so nice, though!” Yuuji insisted. “He compliments my cooking. He hugs me when I'm feeling down. I can actually talk to him about volleyball without boring him to death... Also, there's the eye candy, if you know what I mean.”

Miwa-san lifted a single brow and folded her arms in front of her chest.

“Yuuji-kun, you sound like a high school girl talking about her crush.”

Yuuji gasped.

“Crush? What are you even talking about? I don't have a crush on Daichi-kun!”

He really didn't. He just thought the guy was attractive.

“I don't care.” Miwa-san shook her head and immediately turned back to the mannequin head Yuuji was using for practice. “Now let's get back to this haircut. Look at this section here...”

Sighing, Yuuji decided to let it go for now and just listen to Miwa-san's critique.

***

Sometimes, Daichi-kun would get back home from work late. It didn't happen all that often, and usually, he made sure to inform Yuuji via Line. But one night, an hour passed without a message from Daichi-kun. If any of Yuuji's other friends – and at this point, Yuuji definitely counted Daichi-kun amongst his friends – had been an hour late, he wouldn't have worried. Sometimes there was traffic, or a train got delayed, or maybe they ran into another friend on the way and got stuck talking for a bit. Sometimes life was like that. Things just happened. But for whatever reason, not hearing from Daichi-kun was different. Maybe it was his line of work. When Yuuji had asked him, Daichi-kun had said that he'd never been in a truly dangerous situation before. But there was a first time for everything.

So Yuuji sat on the couch, clutching his phone and trying to distract himself with some mindless talent show on TV. Should he try sending Daichi-kun a message or would that be weird?

Just as he'd worked up the nerve to open his Line app, the front door opened.

“I'm back.” Daichi-kun's voice sounded strained, and his shoulders were slumped.

“Welcome home,” Yuuji said, turning off the TV and getting up. “You look exhausted. What happened?”

“There was an attempted armed robbery at that bookshop near the primary school,” Daichi-kun explained, struggling to get his left shoe off of his foot. “A guy was threatening the shop assistant with a knife, but a customer called us. As soon as the guy heard the sirens, he bolted.”

“Holy shit. Did you catch him?” Yuuji asked, walking over to the kitchenette to put Daichi-kun's portion of omelette rice into the microwave. Daichi-kun sat down at the kitchen table before answering.

“The bastard managed to shake us off by running into the park. We couldn't follow him in our car, so we gave chase on foot, but we lost him.” There was a bitterness to Daichi-kun's voice that Yuuji had never heard before. “My colleagues spent an hour combing the park while I interviewed the witnesses at the shop. I got a fairly good description off of them, so hopefully, we'll manage to find him.”

“Damn, that's rough.”

“Yeah.” Daichi-kun sighed and rubbed his forehead as the microwave dinged. Yuuji grabbed the plate and squeezed a bit of ketchup on top of the omelette before putting it down in front of Daichi-kun.

“Thanks for the food,” Daichi-kun mumbled and dug in.

Yuuji was relieved that nothing had happened to his friend, but as he sat across from him and watched him eat, he realised that this was probably one of the most frustrating moments Daichi-kun must've experienced in his career so far. And since Daichi-kun had been there for Yuuji, Yuuji wanted to be there for him in return.

“Is there anything I can do for you?”

Startled, Daichi-kun looked up from his plate.

“You already made me food?” His reply sounded more like a question than an answer.

“No, I mean... You seem tired. I could give you a shoulder massage or something? I'm good at those.”

Daichi-kun let out a little huff of laughter.

“Are you going to give me a full spa treatment?”

It was clearly meant to be a joke, but the idea was brilliant.

“I could wash your hair and massage your scalp!” Yuuji suggested enthusiastically.

“You really don't have to,” Daichi-kun said, nervously scratching the back of his head.

“Come on! Lemme help you out a little. I could also trim the hair at the back of your neck. It's getting a little long, isn't it?”

“Okay, but let me finish dinner first.”

“I'll go and get a bath ready!” Yuuji smiled from ear to ear as he got up from the table.

***

Half an hour later, Daichi-kun was sitting in the tub with his back to Yuuji who was sitting on a little stool and running his finger through Daichi-kun's damp hair.

“You need to use better shampoo. Or at least start using conditioner,” Yuuji said, pouring some of his own shampoo into his hand.

“Conditioner?” Daichi-kun asked, sounding befuddled.

Yuuji sighed and started to gently massage the shampoo into Daichi-kun's scalp.

“Shampoo strips all of the grime and grease off of your hair, but it also removes a lot of natural oils that keep your hair soft. That's why you have to use a conditioner to replenish and nourish your hair.”

“Oh. I never knew that.”

Yuuji shook his head and sighed.

“Straight guys...” he muttered under his breath.

“What did you say?”

“Nothing!” Yuuji said a little too loudly. “My conditioner is meant to be used on bleached hair, but it's better than no conditioner. If you want, I can get you some from work tomorrow.”

“You're the expert, so I'll trust your judgement.”

Yuuji was glad that Daichi-kun wasn't facing him because he could feel the heat rise all the way up to his ears. He continued to run his finger through Daichi-kun's hair, making sure that every bit was covered in suds and massaging as he went.

“Close your eyes, I'm gonna rinse this out,” he said as he reached for the showerhead. He checked whether the water was at a nice lukewarm temperature before he directed the spray of water at Daichi-kun's hair.

“You can open them again,” Yuuji instructed. He picked up his conditioner and started distributing it through Daichi-kun's relatively short hair. “We'll have to let this sit for a bit. I could give your shoulders a little massage while we wait?

“That... that would be nice,” Daichi-kun mumbled, sitting up a little straighter in the tub.

“Wow, you are _stiff_ ,” Yuuji said as he started kneading Daichi-kun's shoulders.

“It's been a long day,” Daichi-kun said wearily.

“Well, it's nothing I can't fix.” Yuuji dug the pad of his thumbs into the stiff muscles. “I have magic hands. That's what my exes say at least.”

Daichi-kun laughed, and it was like music to Yuuji's ears. All he wanted was to give Daichi-kun a moment of reprieve, and finally, it seemed to be working.

***

“...and I also trimmed his hair a little, because honestly, there's nothing worse than when hair sticks out at the nape,” Yuuji recounted over lunch break. Fuku-chan, one of his co-workers, lit up a cigarette and took a deep drag.

“Miwa-san, you were right,” she said.

“I know,” Miwa-san sighed, folding her arms in front of her chest and leaning back on the park bench.

“What are you talking about?” Yuuji asked, sensing that they were probably trying to bad-mouth him.

“You're head over heels in love with this guy,” Fuku-chan said. “That's what Miwa-san told me, and I have to agree.”

“Wh– I– N-no?” Yuuji sputtered. He couldn't be in love with Daichi-kun! He wasn't even looking for a serious partner at the moment. After his last disaster of a relationship had ended, he'd sworn to himself that he wouldn't jump into a new one without serious consideration. And two weeks was nowhere near enough time to seriously consider anything.

“I'm _not_ in love with him,” Yuuji insisted.

Miwa-san rolled her eyes.

“You're an idiot.”

***

By the time Yuuji left work, he was still a little offended that Miwa-san and Fuku-chan would think so little of his resolve not to repeat stupid mistakes. In their defence, he didn't have a great track record when it came to love. He often fell for straight guys who didn't want anything to do with him or for women who would eventually freak out at him for being too flamboyant. And for all Yuuji knew, Daichi-kun probably fell square into that first category. Or well, at least the straight part. So far, Daichi-kun hadn't been put off by his flair for dramatics.

His brooding was interrupted halfway to his bus stop when his phone rang. He picked up without even looking at the screen.

“Hello, Terushima Yuuji speaking.”

“Hello, Terushima-kun, this is Suzuki,” Yuuji's landlady greeted him. “I'm happy to inform you that the repairs are almost done! The construction workers said that you could move back in five days.”

“Oh! That's great news then,” Yuuji said, sighing with relief. “I'll talk to my friend about when he can help me pick up my furniture from your garage, Suzuki-san.”

But the relief only lasted for a short while. As he sat on the bus, he was suddenly overcome by the realisation that once he left Daichi-kun's flat there was no reason for them to ever reconnect again. Their schedules didn't match, and they'd only truly known each other for two weeks. Sure, Yuuji thought of Daichi-kun as his friend, but he had no idea what Daichi-kun thought of him.

And all of this would've been fine with any other person. Yuuji was used to friendships drifting apart. He barely even talked to his high school friends. The only person from his old volleyball team he still saw fairly regularly was Tsucchi-kun because they liked the same bands, so they sometimes went to concerts together. Once high school stopped forcing you into spending time with people, friendships had a tendency to come and go. And that was fine, but the longer Yuuji thought about drifting away from Daichi-kun, the more his heart started to hurt.

Maybe Miwa-san was right after all. Maybe Yuuji was really an idiot who had fallen in love.

***

From: Terushima Yuuji

> Hey, Daichi-kun! I have good news :D

> I can probably move back to my flat by Friday 🌟🌟🌟

> Can you help me move then?

Daichi rubbed his palms over his closed eyes. He should have been relieved, but he wasn't. Instead, he wanted to curse himself.

“ _Fuck_. Why did I ever let him inside my house?”


	3. Never look back

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> _I wanna live better days  
>  Never look back and say  
> Could have been me  
> It could have been me _
> 
> _The Struts – Could have been me_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And here's the final chapter!

“This is _literally_ a nightmare, Miwa-san,” Yuuji complained as he wiped down one of the mirrors. “I don't _want_ to move back to my flat.”

“I told you so,” Miwa-san said, her eyes never straying from the computer screen. “You know you could've stayed with Fuku-chan and her family if you'd wanted.”

“How should I have known that I'd develop a crush on Daichi-kun?” Yuuji whined, stepping back to see whether there were any streaks left on the mirror.

“Because he is exactly your type,” Miwa-san said. “I can't believe how dense you are when it comes to these things. You're worse than my brother.”

 _Ouch._ That one stung. Tobio-kun was a genius volleyball player, but Yuuji had witnessed his ineptitude when it came to social situations first hand. Nowadays it wasn't as bad as during their time at high school, but some social cues still flew straight over that guy's head.

“I can't help it, okay? You should see Daichi-kun in his uniform. Or when he's fresh out of the shower. I don't think you'd be able to resist him either,” Yuuji said, moving on to the next mirror.

“I'm not really into men who are younger than me.” Finally, Miwa-san looked up from the orders she'd been placing. “You should probably just tell him, Yuuji-kun. The worst thing that could happen is that he throws you out, but that's not really an issue anymore when you can move to your flat again, isn't it?”

Yuuji groaned.

“If Daichi-kun were a woman, okay fine. But he's not. And I don't like asking guys out.”

“Then stop complaining.”

***

What was Yuuji even supposed to talk about during dinner? What kind of conversations had they had before? Now that Yuuji was about to move out again, the atmosphere inside Daichi-kun's flat felt almost oppressively dark. Daichi-kun's facial expression when he ate Yuuji's food had gone from delightedly contented to something akin to wistful nostalgia. It gave Yuuji at least some hope that Daichi-kun would at least miss his food when he was gone, but he wasn't going to hope for anything more than that.

Five days passed in a hazy cloud of longing and dread, and by the time Yuuji got into the passenger seat of Daichi-kun's car, Yuuji felt sick to his stomach. This wasn't how any of this was supposed to go. This wasn't like him. He'd always been braver than this. In high school, he'd asked out any girl that caught his fancy (though he now regretted how pushy he'd been with some of them), and the first time he'd gone to a gay bar, he'd gone home with a random stranger. Since when had he become so cowardly?

“Well, here we are. Time to get all of your stuff back into this car,” Daichi-kun said when they arrived at Suzuki-san's home. The smile on his face seemed strained.

They mostly worked in silence as they tetrised Yuuji's furniture into the confined space of Daichi-kun's car, all while Yuuji's mind was screaming at him to do something before it was too late. But what was he even supposed to say? “Thanks for letting me stay, and just so you know, I kinda fell in love with you because of it?”

No. He had to do this right. He couldn't play this off as a joke. A guy like Daichi-kun who didn't complain about carrying a dresser up two flights of stairs deserved better than that.

“Was this the last box?” Yuuji asked as he dropped his manga collection onto the floor a little too haphazardly.

“Seems like it,” Daichi-kun said, neatly setting Yuuji's bags down in the corner of the room.

For a moment, they stood in silence while Yuuji struggled to find words. He could do this. He had to do this.

“You know, Daichi-kun,” he started, nervously licking his lips and clenching his hands into fists inside the pockets of his hoodie, “I... I am really grateful for your help. I don't know what I would've done without you these past weeks.”

“Heh, I was happy to help.” Daichi-kun was scratching the back of his neck. He always did that when he was embarrassed. Yuuji didn't even know when he'd started noticing Daichi-kun's nervous habits.

 _Still not enough_ , Yuuji thought. _I want to know more about him. I want to know everything. I need to tell him._

And so he said the next best thing that came to mind.

“Do you want to go out with me?”

“What?”

Yuuji was an idiot. This was worse than a teenager jumping fully clothed into a swimming pool because YOLO.

“I mean... I like you? A lot? Because you are probably the nicest person I have ever met in my entire life. A-and you are so fucking handsome! Every time you leave the shower without a shirt on, I have to _fight_ the urge to do something stupid like I am doing now. God, why am I even doing this?”

 _Because I don't want to live with regret_ , Yuuji thought, hiding his face behind his hands. He didn't want to see the look on Daichi-kun's face. He just wanted to become one with the air. Disappear in a cloud of smoke like the house next door.

“You like me?” Daichi-kun asked quietly.

“Yes, but you can just forget about me and put this all behind you if you want.”

“Why would I? I've had a crush on you _since high school_!”

“What?!”

Yuuji dropped his hands. Daichi-kun's face was the deepest shade of red Yuuji had ever seen on another person's face.

“Look at you!” Daichi-kun vaguely gestured in Yuuji's direction. “The hair! The piercings! The way your collarbone sticks out when you wear loose-fitting t-shirts! You are so freaking positive all the goddamn time, even when your flat is almost burning down! I was constantly beating myself up about taking advantage of you being in a shitty situation, and now you tell me you like me?”

Laughter was probably not the best reaction to this, but Yuuji was just so goddamn relieved.

“So it's mutual?” he asked breathlessly.

“Fuck! Yes! It's mutual!” Daichi-kun was yelling, and Yuuji felt like he was going to burst if he didn't get to kiss this man right this second. He closed the distance between them and wrapped his arms around Daichi-kun's neck.

“Wanna find out how it feels to make out with someone who has one of these?” Yuuji asked and stuck out his tongue to show off his piercing.

“You are the worst,” Daichi-kun said before grabbing the back of Yuuji's neck and pulling him in for a kiss. The touch of Daichi-kun's lips was sparking flames of desire that Yuuji hadn't felt in a while now. He wanted more – more skin against skin, more fingers in his hair, more tongue, more. Just more. But in all of his enthusiasm, Yuuji somehow forgot to breathe.

“Fuck,” he cursed as he separated himself from Daichi-kun to catch his breath. But Daichi-kun was relentless, placing countless kisses all over Yuuji's neck, down to the collar of his hoodie.

“This thing has to go,” Daichi-kun growled, shoving his hands beneath the thick fabric only to be disappointed to find a t-shirt.

“Time out!” Yuuji said, stepping back so he could rid himself of most of his clothes. Daichi-kun followed his example, carelessly throwing his sweater onto the floor.

“Do you know where we put the futon?” Yuuji asked, looking around the room. He was fully prepared to just do this on the floor, but a little more comfort would've been nice.

“I think I put it... Wait a second,” Daichi-kun muttered, walking to the other side of the room and unearthing the futon from behind a pile of boxes. “Here.”

“Yes!” Yuuji exclaimed, pushing aside his fold-up table to make space on the floor. “My knees will forever be in your debt...”

“What does that even mean?” Daichi-kun asked as he spread the futon out.

“That I am going to go down on you.” Once again, Yuuji stuck out his tongue for emphasis.

“Holy fuck, you are a menace,” Daichi-kun said breathlessly. “Please tell me that you did not get this piercing just for... that.”

Yuuji laughed, undoing the button and zip of his jeans.

“Nah. I only figured out how useful this thing is when I wasn't in high school anymore,” he said, letting his trousers pool at his feet before stepping out of them. “Fifteen-year-old me was actually fairly innocent.”

“I'm not sure if I believe that,” Daichi-kun said, sitting down on the futon, now that they were both down to their underwear.

“Trust me. I got the piercings because I wanted to be edgy. And to piss off my dad. No sexy reasons behind the decision.” Yuuji pushed Daichi-kun's shoulders to prompt him to lie down, not expecting that Daichi-kun would wrap his arms around Yuuji's neck to pull him down with him, making him lose his balance.

“Oof!” Daichi-kun gasped as Yuuji fell down on top of him. “That's not how that was supposed to go.”

Yuuji chuckled, opting to just stay where he was. Resting his head on Daichi-kun's naked chest was a dream come true.

“This is real, right?” he asked, sighing contentedly.

“I usually wake up before my dreams get to the 'the guy I like is confessing to me' part,” Daichi-kun admitted, running his fingers through Yuuji's hair. “My alarm clock is my worst enemy.”

“Does that mean you've dreamt about me before?” Yuuji asked, propping himself up a little on his elbows so he could see Daichi-kun's face.

“Occasionally.” Daichi-kun averted his eyes shyly. “Can we please go back to making out now? This is getting kinda embarrassing.”

Who was Yuuji to deny this literal angel of a man anything?

Their second kiss was less rushed and urgent. With most of their clothes out of the way, their hands could roam freely, and Yuuji took the opportunity to finally explore those abs that had been taunting him for weeks. He ran his fingers over them, revelling in the way his touch made Daichi-kun shiver.

“Damn, you're perfect,” Yuuji whispered reverently.

“I could say the same thing about you,” Daichi-kun replied, kissing Yuuji's shoulder and neck. A quiet moan escaped Yuuji's throat when Daichi-kun started to simultaneously slide his hand all the way down Yuuji's back to the elastic band of his underwear.

“Do you want me to take these o-off?” Yuuji asked, his breath hitching at the end of the question as Daichi-kun's hand slid beneath the fabric to squeeze Yuuji's ass.

“Yeah.”

As Yuuji pulled back so he could take care of his boxer shorts, he noticed the rather sizeable tent Daichi-kun was pitching.

“You take yours off, too.”

“Gimme a second,” Daichi-kun said, lifting his hips off the ground so he could free his erection from behind his boxer briefs. Yuuji couldn't resist reaching out to take it in his hand. The little gasp Daichi-kun gave in response was delightful, and it made Yuuji wonder about what other sounds Daichi-kun was going to make.

“The blowjob offer still stands,” Yuuji said, grinning.

Daichi-kun nodded vigorously.

 _This is going to be so much fun_ , Yuuji thought as he came to kneel between Daichi-kun's legs. He didn't waste any time, taking the tip into his mouth and making sure that his piercing was sliding against the underside of Daichi-kun's dick. The resulting groan that left Daichi-kun's mouth resonated deep within Yuuji's bones. Yuuji took that as his cue to take him deeper into his mouth, as far as his gag reflex would allow. He then hollowed out his cheeks and pulled his head back up again.

“Y-yuuji!” Daichi-kun's voice sounded so soft as he moaned Yuuji's name, and Yuuji wanted nothing more than to hear it again. If anyone had told him how excited he'd be about Daichi-kun starting to use his given name instead of his family name, Yuuji would have declared that person insane. But here he was, so giddy with excitement that he could barely contain himself and almost choked on the dick in his mouth.

“Are you okay?” Daichi-kun asked as Yuuji hastily pulled off to take a couple of deep breaths.

“I'm fine,” Yuuji wheezed. “Kinda forgot my limits for a second there.”

“You don't have to continue if–”

Daichi-kun cut off when Yuuji took him back into his mouth. This time around, he made sure to cover the base of Daichi-kun's dick with his hand so he wouldn't be tempted to take him further than strictly necessary. It was sweet of Daichi-kun to worry, but Yuuji knew what he was doing, and he was determined to bring this to a satisfying end.

And oh, how satisfying it was when Daichi-kun reached his climax with Yuuji's name on his lips, head thrown back and hips shivering with pleasure. The taste of cum was kinda unpleasant, but Yuuji would rather swallow it all down than have to clean it up later. Judging by his moans, Daichi-kun certainly seemed to enjoy it, though.

“Holy shit, did you really just...”

“Yep!” Yuuji said cheerily, wiping cum and saliva off of his lips as he sat up.

“I'm not sure I'll be able to do _that_ ,” Daichi-kun mumbled, pushing himself up by the elbows.

“Does that mean you wanna return the favour?”

“Sure, but let me catch my breath.” Daichi-kun chuckled. “How about you lie down first?”

Yuuji eagerly followed Daichi-kun's instructions. He was painfully hard at this point, and he'd take anything Daichi-kun was willing to give. It probably wasn't going to take much to make him come.

“Just so you know, I've only done this once in my entire life, and I wasn't good at it,” Daichi-kun admitted as he got himself into position.

“We have all the time in the world for you to practise,” Yuuji said, biting his lip in anticipation. “Not that you have to, but if you wanna, I'll happily let you.”

Daichi-kun smiled and shook his head. Then he started kissing Yuuji's hips, slowly working his way inwards until his breath was tickling Yuuji's erection. For a moment, he paused, clearly trying to work up the nerve to just go ahead and do this.

The feeling when Daichi-kun finally touched Yuuji's dick was heavenly, but also torturous. The tiny kisses and licks were enough to drive Yuuji crazy but nowhere near enough to get him off. Yuuji was torn between wanting to watch and wanting to just close his eyes and focus on the sensation but eventually opted for the latter.

Luckily, Daichi-kun didn't deem it necessary to rile Yuuji up for too long and finally took his dick in his mouth. He was clumsy about it, stopping often and trying out different approaches, but Yuuji didn't care. He was desperately hard, and the guy he'd been lusting after for weeks was sucking him off – nothing could've been more pleasurable than this. Whimpering moans were spilling from his lips, and he had to muster all of his self-restraint not to buck his hips into Daichi-kun's warm mouth.

“'m close,” Yuuji warned, but Daichi-kun kept at it, slowly but surely pushing Yuuji closer and closer to release.

“Daichi! I–”

And then it was already too late. Yuuji was coming into Daichi-kun's mouth, crying out in blissful ecstasy as his body shook with waves of warm pleasure.

“Damn, that was amazing,” Yuuji said, sighing contentedly. Then he opened his eyes to find Daichi-kun staring at him with furrowed brows, wide eyes and suspiciously full cheeks. “Ah! Wait a second!”

Hastily he looked around to find something, _anything_ for Daichi-kun to spit into, finally settling on the pair of boxer shorts that he'd previously discarded on the floor next to the futon. They were going into the laundry basket after this anyway.

“How did you swallow that?!” Daichi-kun asked once he'd cleaned out his mouth.

“I don't know, you kinda get used to it at some point.” Yuuji shrugged. “I certainly appreciate the effort, but you really don't have to try that again if you don't want to.”

“We'll see,” Daichi-kun sighed and flopped down on the futon next to Yuuji. “I hope I didn't disappoint you with my subpar skills.”

“There was nothing disappointing about that.” Yuuji chuckled and snuggled in close until they were lying chest to chest. “It's a shame I'm not staying at your place anymore. Otherwise, we'd probably be able to find more time to practise.”

“You can come to visit anytime, Terushima-kun.”

Yuuji couldn't help but pout.

“That's not what you were calling me earlier, Daichi-kun!”

Daichi-kun chuckled.

“Yuuji, then. But please drop the 'kun'. We're not in high school anymore.”

“Sure.” Yuuji reached out to gently brush his fingers through Daichi's hair. “Have you been using the conditioner I got you? It feels much softer.”

“Yeah. I didn't want to disappoint you with my bad haircare habits,” Daichi admitted with a sheepish grin.

“You'll be the most well-groomed officer on the Miyagi police force.”

“I don't doubt it.”

They continued to talk about whatever came to mind, laughing quietly and occasionally exchanging little kisses. Yuuji never wanted this moment to end, but as the room grew darker and darker, he had to face reality.

“I should get going,” Daichi said ruefully. “I need to get up early tomorrow.”

Yuuji whined and smooshed his face into Daichi's shoulder.

“When's your next day off?” he asked, voice muffled.

“Sunday.”

“Hmm, I have to work until noon on Sunday. Do you wanna go out for lunch?”

“Are you asking me on a date?” Daichi asked, gently extricating himself from Yuuji's embrace.

“Yes? What else could I be doing?”

Daichi laughed. “It just feels surreal that I finally get to go on a date with you.”

Daichi's smile was capable of melting glaciers, and it was making Yuuji feel even less inclined to let him go.

“I'll miss you,” he whined as he watched Daichi gather his clothes that were strewn about the entire one-room flat.

“I'll miss you, too.”

Fifteen minutes and a long kiss goodbye later, Yuuji was alone in a flat that didn't feel like home anymore.

 _I wonder when my lease is up for renewal_ , Yuuji thought as he started unpacking his boxes.

***

Two months later, Daichi knew exactly who it was when the doorbell rang, but he still wasn't ready for what greeted him on the other side of the door.

“Honey, I'm home!” Yuuji exclaimed, throwing his arms in the air.

“You're an hour late,” Daichi chided, blushing as he stepped aside so Yuuji could enter the flat with his two suitcases of things that hadn't fit inside Daichi’s car yesterday. They could've hired a moving company, but Daichi's pride wouldn't allow it.

“I know. I got stuck talking to Fuku-chan after work, and then I missed the bus,” Yuuji explained. “But aren't you happy to see me?”

“Of course, I am,” Daichi said, grabbing Yuuji by the waist and pulling him close for a kiss.

Honestly, Daichi would never be ready for anything Terushima Yuuji decided to throw at him. But that was why he loved him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Writing any Terushima ship and not mentioning his tongue piercing is a crime against humanity, so please excuse the fact that I have once again written blowjobs lol

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks to Nana for enabling me and letting me yell at her about this fic lol  
> You can find me on [Tumblr](http://gilrael.tumblr.com), [Pillowfort](https://pillowfort.social/Gilrael) and [Twitter](https://twitter.com/Gilrael92) if you want to keep up with my writing :)


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